The Founders’ Retreat: Embracing Your Inner Tunnel Vision

If you came to Wharton with entrepreneurial inclinations, have started a company in the past and are looking to connect with other founders, or are already dead-set on skipping all your classes to get the next Warby Parker off the ground, then keep reading.

Arguably, one of the biggest challenges of founding a company at Wharton is keeping focused. With hundreds of interesting info sessions at every turn, and new and seemingly-viable career paths blindsiding you every other drunken 2am conversation, it’s easy to lose touch with the motivational core that drove you towards entrepreneurship in the first place. If only there was a place hidden from these distractions, designed especially to help you reinforce this desire with like-minded individuals…

Enter the Founders’ Retreat, put on in collaboration between Wharton students from the Entrepreneurship and Founders clubsWharton MBA Career ManagementWharton Entrepreneurial ProgramsWharton Admissions, and Venturef0rth. This year, the Founders’ Retreat was held at Venturef0rth’s space in Northeast Philadelphia, a neo-industrial shared working space full of new entrepreneurial ventures aspiring to be the next big thing. Here they work shoulder-to-shoulder while exchanging ideas and advice as they hurdle obstacle after obstacle on their respective paths to stardom. Founded by Elliot Menschik, part of the faculty at UPenn’s Engineering Entrepreneurship Program, Venturef0rth also provides strategic and operational support to these fledgling startups.

As around 50 slightly hungover Whartonites arrived and descended on the food – an impressive spread after a week of awful boxed lunches from pre-term – we mingled with successful Wharton entrepreneurs, 2nd years who had secured startup internships over the summer, leaders of the Entrepreneurship Club (eClub), and more. Initial conversations revealed that our group had been more carefully selected than most, and curiosity piqued as we were slowly ushered towards our seats in the main hall.

We started with short lecture by Kartik Hosanagar, one of the most respected entrepreneurship faculty at Wharton. In refreshingly frank terms he explained why startups and VC’s are skeptical of MBAs and, in some cases, why they are correct to be so. After being repeatedly reminded how awesome we all are throughout pre-term, this was a welcome dose of reality. He touched on a number of important challenges we would all face if serious about pursuing startups and offered his help throughout the 2 years for those who needed it. To get that help, however, you may have to schedule a walk home to center city from campus with him as his advice is in exceedingly high demand. Up next, a panel of either current or recently-graduated Whartonites with successful startup experience form a semi-circle in front of us and, along with Professor Fitzgerald, who literally teaches the class on raising capital for startups, they begin to describe history of their companies, complete with soaring highs and seemingly bottomless lows. An emphasis is placed on the challenges of raising capital and the malleable nature of business ideas as ventures grow and occasionally need to pivot. Hearing their stories really brought home the realities of starting something from scratch, doing it while balancing classes and social life, and somehow keeping your sanity.

Afterwards we got up, stretched, and split off into breakout sessions consisting of 5 students and one panelist.  As we shuffled towards our respective rooms I caught myself looking around at my fellow students and wondering how serious the people here were about starting something. Sure they had to get in a cab and go somewhere other than campus, but these sorts of events are often full of people just looking to listen, potentially dip a toe in, and leave with a sandwich surreptitiously stuffed in the back pocket of their jeans. As we got seated and did a quick introduction, which included our background, reasons for being here, and any ideas or companies we already had, my suspicions quickly evaporated.

These people were the real effing deal. Not “oh I have this great idea for a new iPhone app” real, I’m talking “We just signed a supply deal with Kimberly-Clark” real. After our panelist, Benjamin Lewis, humbly explained how his veterinary background and an experience saving a dog with an expired human stent led him to found a company specializing in veterinary surgical supplies that is currently sailing at a millions of dollars per year in revenue and expanding to Brazil, my jaw dropped. A few minutes later when, after some prying, he coolly mentioned that he was also the captain of the US kayaking team in the 2004 Olympics, I almost fell over in my chair. Who the hell ARE these people?!?

My breakout group was no less impressive. Dalton Wright, a venture capitalist from Utah, founded a company right out of college and later helped set up one of the most reputable venture funds in Mexico City. To his right a tanned Latin man named Jonathan Levenstein was looking for the next big thing since his company, which provided small loans to taxi drivers in Mexico, was now up and running smoothly. Someone I had just recently met and befriended, Zach Simkin, surprised me by explaining how his involvement in HYSO, a company whose flagship product automatically sanitized door handles, had led to a successful global supply agreement with Kimberly-Clark. Another gent with a media background shared that he had no entrepreneurial experience…  aside from having just launched a new company 4 days prior that was working on a social Q&A app to serve as a one-stop polling center… No big deal. As the last to speak, I sheepishly shared my experience founding a company in Palo Alto with a friend over the summer that specialized in underground inspection cameras for pipeline investigation – a growing, but not exactly cool, niche. When I explained that I had gone to China in August to interview potential suppliers and was currently struggling through getting the first prototype to the US, I was offered help by someone who had experience with China-to-US importation. “Yes please!” I said, almost startling him. “I feel like I have no idea what I’m doing”.

And therein lies the wonder of the retreat. Not only had we found others who were serious about starting companies while here at Wharton, we had found a group who we could both commiserate with and learn from. The year hadn’t even fully begun and yet total strangers were already offering helping hands. When one member mentioned that he was having trouble finding a technical lead with a strong Facebook API background, Benjamin immediately pulled out his phone and gave him the info of an undergrad tech guru. “This guy is solid – if he can’t help you he can definitely point you in the direction of someone who can.” This kind of help is HUGE and often means the difference between sinking alone or swimming together.

Staring out the window at blurry and unfamiliar Philadelphia storefronts on my cab ride home, I felt grateful for the members of the many organizations who put this thing on. As overwhelmed as I was now, I was sure that more was yet to come for those committed to starting companies. Knowing that someone else can identify with that pain is comforting – knowing that they’ve got your back with events like these is an entirely different thing.

As I pulled into center city, I realized I would need to hone an intentional tunnel vision to get me through the gauntlet of info sessions, club emails, and leadership opportunities. Until I can see the light at the end of that tunnel, however, the Founders’ Retreat might just be the glimmer in the middle that keeps me moving forward in what can often be a scary, lonely darkness.

/eh

Ambassadors and Tough Problems in East Timor

Elo/Bonoite/Selamat Sore! (in all 3 languages spoken here)

It's been an amazing and full first week in Timor Leste/East Timor, the first stop on my international development project with Accenture Development Partnerships, the UN, and the Shell Foundation. This week we spent both meeting with a dozen organizations involved in the development of Timor Leste and really gaining an understanding of the realities on the ground through field visits. First stop was the US Embassy, where we received a quick response to drop by and discuss our project and goals. The US State Dept is not only a major donor to the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, but also has an added vested interest thanks to the attention Hillary Clinton gave the issue by announcing the formation of the Alliance personally. This keenness was further evidenced by the fact that we were greeted not only by the Deputy of Mission but the Ambassador herself! We sat and spoke casually in the old Indonesian governor's house, now home of the Ambassador and full of relics of Indonesian and Portuguese colonial days past. After an hour or so we ended on a positive note and they not only donated a local resource to help us navigate around but also organized meetings for the rest of the week with local Timorese cooperatives, government ministries, activist organizations, and NGO's such as World Vision, Oxfam, and the World Bank. All went very well but reinforced the realization that this will be an uphill battle against history, demography and economic reality.

https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/u/0/?ui=2&ik=c16014ca49&view=att&th=12f5c080b83229b9&attid=0.2&disp=inline&realattid=f_gmjavdpt1&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P8nXdFN6ouYcbh9kw5PdOJn&sadet=1362626482330&sads=OH9m3cHQ7HnWV2yrkYeFEr_RM48To give you some context, Timor Leste is the world's newest nation and has been to hell and back to get here. The incredible beauty of this country and its people can be eclipsed only by the tragic history it has endured. Colonized by Portugal in the 16th century, Timor Leste enjoyed little attention from the rest of the world as a neglected trading post, with Portuguese involvement mostly restricted to the coastal and fringe areas of the country (TL is very mountainous and getting around is slow going, to say the least). After decolonization, TL declared independence in 1975 and was almost immediately invaded and occupied by Indonesia, costing over a hundred thousand Timorese lives (they have a current population of only ~1 million). After decades of brutal occupation during which many Timorese moved into the mountains to fight a guerrilla war against their occupiers, Timor finally caught the attention of the international community after the infamous "Balibo Five" killings and the Dili Massacre, during which Indonesian troops opened fire on a several-thousand strong funeral procession for a pro-independence activist at a cemetery here in the capital. The whole event was caught on film by a British cameraman hiding in a nearby burial vault who, after burying the film and returning later to collect it, smuggled it out of the country to TV stations in the UK. After an outcry from Portugal (who cringed as the Timorese were praying in Portuguese), increased pressure from the international community and finally threats by US President Bill Clinton himself, the UN forced Indonesia's hand and a referendum was held in 1999 to allow the Timorese to decide their own fate -- independence or continued integration with Indonesia. Results tallied, it became very clear (by an 80% majority and a 95% voter turnout rate... the last US election had a 57% turnout!) that TL wanted to be it's own nation. Indonesia bitterly acquiesced, but not before removing or destroying everything in Timor Leste on their way out. When I say bitter, I'm talking scorched Earth -- they destroyed almost all Timorese infrastructure, raped hundreds of women and displaced 3/4 of the population who fled to the mountains. The scars from this experience are still visible on both the faces of the Timorese people and in the ruins which remain in many parts of Dili. After intervention and stabilization by the UN, Timor Leste finally became a recognized nation in May 2002.

https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/u/0/?ui=2&ik=c16014ca49&view=att&th=12f5c6d27b71f4ba&attid=0.8&disp=inline&realattid=f_gmjavdq57&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P8nXdFN6ouYcbh9kw5PdOJn&sadet=1362626419806&sads=OzgXLzCy22XVRu5nRcFbNNSlYSoFunnily enough, the phrase "recognized nation" carries a lot more meaning here than one might think. I just finished having drinks with Manuel Tilman, the head of the current Timorese Parliament (they follow the Portuguese Parliamentary Republic model) and author of the current constitution. As a lawyer, he personally drafted the constitution in 2002 and later quickly revised one word -- "restored" to "internationally recognized" independence -- before it was signed (and without anyone realizing!). Upon asking how large a significance this had, he asked how old the country was and I immediately understood... to "restore" independence would imply that they were sovereign in 1975; for it to have achieved "international recognition" in 2002 would make Timor Leste 27 years younger. The practical difference is that now contracts, marriages and land disputes can fall back on Portuguese law, allowing them to be resolved, rather than no law (as none had yet been created) if this subtle phrasing had not been altered. It caused quite a ruckus as the signers wanted recognition going back to 1975 but, as he says, it's too late now and most agree the legal stability was worth the sacrifice. As we spoke the power went out, as it often does in Dili, and we continued on in the dark for 20 minutes before it was restored. He was refreshingly proud and yet laid-back and we spoke for a couple more hours about the many challenges facing TL before he resigned to his digs here in our complex.

As for our field visits, nothing could prepare me for what we saw yesterday. After a 4 hour drive through half-paved roads, washed away bridges and mud crossings we had managed to cover only 10 miles as the crow flies, but arrived safely at our destination of Maubisse, a central mountain town and birthplace of our friend Mr. Tilman. We stopped in the village market to pick up bité, tobacco leaves that are chewed, and cigarettes to give to the village we planned to visit as an offering. We then drove to over 8000ft from sea level, eventually ditching the 4x4's to trek by foot the last few hundred feet to the huts situated on the choicest slice of real estate -- right on top of the mountain. As we climbed, children and adults began coming out of nowhere yelling malay! malay! (whites) and following us up the hill. At the top we were greeted by a half-dozen Timorese children and shown where we could leave our offering. After receiving permission to enter their huts, we took photos of their cooking 'facilities' and asked about traditional cooking habits, usage of firewood and awareness of the dangers of smoke inhalation. Almost comically, we did this under the watchful gaze of their 5-year-old daughter wearing a ragged teddy bear sweater, puffing on a cigarette and coughing up a storm between sleeve-wipes of her running nose. The village elder, who was reportedly over 100 years old, explained through interpreters how the fires are kept burning 24 hours a day regardless of meals, as the smoke not only reinforces the impermeability of the thatch roofs and dries the vegetables hanging from the ceiling, but also wards away malevolent spirits. If the fire dies the home can no longer be occupied until it is rekindled, lest the occupiers be cursed. Thus they live in a state of perpetual smoke, even as newborns -- fires are kept burning under the cribs of newborn babies for 80 days as per tradition. All my initial hypotheses go tumbling down that mountain as it finally begins to sink in how much we are up against...

As we wave goodbye and our 4x4's pull away, I have the solemn realization that at least 1 in 6 of these smiling faces will likely die as a result of severe malnutrition. You can even see it in the bloated stomachs of some of the youngest. More will succumb to malaria, tuberculosis, leprosy or a laundry list of other fatal yet easily preventable conditions. You wouldn't believe the number of pediatric deaths from something as simple as diarrhea. Suddenly that cigarette seems like the last thing that should be worrying the mother of that coughing 5 year old.



https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/u/0/?ui=2&ik=c16014ca49&view=att&th=12f5c080b83229b9&attid=0.5&disp=inline&realattid=f_gmjavdpz4&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P8nXdFN6ouYcbh9kw5PdOJn&sadet=1362626331617&sads=eAydSLPRsVWwyBqyQlnnfdZUSzgReturning to Maubisse we throw our bags in our overnight home, a old Portuguese posada, ex-home to the colonial governor of yesteryear, and enjoy a local dinner and a few beers before dusk settles in over the mountains. Lights flicker to life at 6pm, when electricity outside of the cities is switched on, and suddenly die again at midnight. Even if you are part of the 10% of the population lucky enough to be connected to the grid, 6 hours a day of electricity is all you have to work with. As I fall asleep I write up notes on the day and the immense challenges facing a developmental program of any kind, and our program in particular.

Back in Dili now, I'm going to relax and enjoy the weekend before another round of interviews next week with the Ministry of Health, the World Food Program, the World Bank and more. Timor Leste is renowned for its world-class diving, so hopefully I'll have a photo of a whaleshark to share soon.
/eh

New international development project and off to London!

Recently I've been excited to be working with Accenture Development Partnerships (ADP) to find a good role for me in the development space. ADP is a fantastic division of Accenture that provides not-for-profit consulting rates for international development projects, which usually places consultants in-country for anywhere from 3-10 months. After much searching, I've identified an exciting international development project with the Shell Foundation -- Though that will put me out of the country for the next 5 months or so, I want to try to post an update for each country as we visit!

First, a little background...

http://www.envirofit.org/images/partners/gacc-logo-2e.pngThe last few weeks have been very eye-opening, learning about a serious problem I knew very little about. As I've recently learned, "indoor air pollution" (usually fumes from cooking and heating) is responsible for more than 2 million deaths annually and represents 3% of the global burden of disease (in the top 10), a shock to me. Our partner, the GACC, is a public-private initiative to save lives, improve livelihoods, empower women, and combat climate change by creating a global market for cleaner indoor heating and cooking solutions. The Alliance is hosted by the UN Foundation and supported by the various foundations, NGO's, and National Governments (press releases here and here).


In a nutshell, the project is a series of market feasibility studies across 4 strategically-relevant nations (Nigeria, Brazil, China, and South Africa) -- and includes understanding national demographics, cooking habits, cultural factors, income levels, pollution exposure, etc and putting that information together to create clear product/market strategies for each nation. Much of this information will come from interviews with in-country commercial & NGO partners and field visits to target areas, as well as from visits we will be doing in the UK & the Netherlands at partner HQs. Field visits should be the most interesting, putting us in the homes of some of the most remote villages in rural areas of these countries attempting to properly frame both the problem and the solution.

The team is small and I'll be spending roughly 4-5 weeks in each of our target countries. I've finally gotten enough visas and immunizations to get started and am off to London tomorrow morning to kick the project off. Next stop they say is China, but much is still up in the air...

Over the course of my trip I'll do my best to keep posting and capture what I see!
/eh

The Loss of an Icon

7:15 PM CST – On Flight 2287, Memphis to Houston

It’s 45 minutes before my 6:35pm flight, and I’m anxiously fiddling while standing in line for security at Memphis airport. TSA personnel suddenly begin looking tense and speaking into the collars of their shirts, in that way that makes you think they believe they’re being discrete but would probably be shot quickly in a spy film. They are suspiciously eyeing the gentleman in front of me, who is holding a little black device to his ear, an antennae conspicuously protruding 8 inches from the top, and frowning. Finally, one of the blue-uniformed officers approaches the man and asks him about the device. He looks up, points it towards him, me, and the rest of the security personnel and says incredulously “Michael Jackson just died.”

To say that Michael Jackson was a big part of my childhood would be an underwhelming statement. His creative journey spanned generations, genres, stereotypes, and racial boundaries. His position as a controversial figure made him a mainstay in the media and, especially, the tabloids. His music inspired and entertained millions and, for many, served as the acoustic backdrop for much of the last 20-30 years. He was the undisputed King of Pop, a living legend, and the inspiration for much of the music and talent created since he arrived on the scene. To see him go is to see a part of my inner child go with him.

All you have to do is listen to “Have You Seen My Childhood” and “Tabloid Junkie” to realize that this was a man who was very misunderstood, often ridiculed, and sadly villainized. I’ve already heard sentiments that “our kids are safer without him”, which sadden me indescribably – I don’t believe Michael was ever a malicious person, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that to be different is to provoke the full gamut of negative human reactions, from fear to hatred… and I’ll be the first to admit that he was certainly different. Regardless, the fact remains that Michael Jackson enriched our lives, and did so with a zeal, charm, and naivete that the world may only witness once in a lifetime.

As I sit here on my flight listening to the haunting tones of “Little Susie”, I can’t help but wonder about Michael as one of the most interesting social experiments of the century. He is purely a product of modern society, a life spent in an inescapable limelight from an early age, and a society which simultaneously loved him and loved to hate him. He was a modern superhero, not in the traditional sense, but more a la The Watchmen. As someone who gave himself over fully to the world through his creative pursuits – as a prolific singer, a masterful dancer, and someone who basically invented the modern music video – his success ultimately turned on him, taking its toll mentally, physically, and financially. In the end, it would appear Michael gave up his childhood to entertain millions of ours.

Whether or not that’s a trade he’d make again, I guess we’ll never know. Either way, we thank you Michael – you will be missed.
/eh

“People say I'm not okay
'Cause I love such elementary things...
It's been my fate to compensate,
For the Childhood
I've never known...”

‘Childhood’ – Michael Joseph Jackson (1958-2009)

Iran's Unintended Consequences

I must have sat down to write about the events in Iran a dozen times, but every time I do so more news keeps pouring out of this disillusioned Middle-Eastern country.


The Supreme Council has announced there will be no recount -- Big surprise there. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ordered an end to protests, officials have cracked down on international media, and Tehran has been flooded with police and riot troops, along with the motorcycle-riding, civilian-shooting Basij militia. This appears to have deterred large-scale protests over the past three days. Russia has also lent legitimacy to the election by officially recognizing the results (thanks a lot Ruskies).

To say that I am "appalled and outraged" as stated yesterday by President Obama (in admittedly weaker terms than the WSJ might have you believe), would do a great disservice to the men and women risking life and liberty to convey to the international community observing through the technological keyhole of Iran's locked door, that their choice was not the one that led to the reelection (read: selection) of Mr. Ahmadinejad. Indeed, their voices have been largely ignored, marginalized, hidden, jailed, or beaten into, if not capitulation, at least submission.

Neda Agha Sultan, the woman who died on video and has become a symbol and martyr of the protests, has provided a much needed rallying point for the international community and the common person to identify with and get behind -- for those who still needed one. More important, I think it has brought to the forefront of this conflict a demographic which arguably elicits more sympathy, attention, emotion, and support than any other – women. In a country whose women only recently began defying the establishment through carefully planned flashes of hair under their head scarves and brightly painted fingernails, the events of the past week have put defibrillator paddles onto their cause, jolting it into the public eye and giving them the courage to participate as never before seen. Regardless of the outcome, I believe the past week has witnessed Iranian women displaying a level of involvement, courage, passion, and progressiveness that history will look back on as a critical juncture in female participation in Iranian politics beyond simple (and apparently farcical) suffrage.

Something larger has died here, though, and I am conflicted as to whether it is bad thing. Iran's semblance of a democracy was once a source of pride to Iranians, and stood as a beacon of hope in an otherwise autocratic region. When Ahmadinejad was elected in 2005, it was viewed as a triumph of the democratic process, bringing a little-known mayor of Tehran to the highest elected post in the country. Now, however, Khamenei and the Establishment has made clear to the Iranian people that they are above this process; That democracy only prevails if they deem it aligned with their interests. This has understandably angered the Iranian people, who are fighting to get their hijacked democratic process back.

The flip side of this is what intrigues me: The Iranian people may be using this opportunity, even if inadvertently, to wake up to the fact that it was a sham all along; that having a council which must vet aspiring presidential candidates and approve election results isn't much of a democracy... that not only are the cards rigged, but so is the entire casino. What this means for their future I can only begin to imagine. I must admit, though, part of me wonders if maybe, just maybe, this experience will bring them one step closer to demanding
not only a change of crooked dealers, but the entire casino management.

Now that would be a revolution.


/eh

Politics as Usual...

This is a sad story -- someone put me onto this last weekend.


Basically, the Obama Administration has just fired an Inspector General for doing his job. He likely would have retained said job should the subject of his investigation not been a long-time friend and supporter of Obama, former NBA star, head of non-profit St. HOPE, and recently elected Sacramento Mayor, Kevin Johnson. When it became clear that Johnson was essentially stealing the $860,000 recently sent for "tutoring for Sacramento-area students; the redevelopment of several buildings; and theater and art programs", IG Walpin did his job by suspending Johnson from receiving federal funds and got fired for it. Full story from the WSJ - The White House Fires a Watchdog.

For me, this is a huge blow to the credibility of the 'No more politics as usual' claims being made by the new administration and the "Change" platform upon which they ran. I'm saddened to see such blatant and borderline-criminal misuse of power (it is illegal to fire an IG on the spot, he needs 30 days notice -- and pressuring him to resign is of equally dubious legality). This man is supposed to be above political pressure for obvious reasons; a watchdog able to act and investigate freely... I don't know how often this kind of thing happens, but it's not a great sign.
..

Who's watching out for the watchers?
/eh

The Science of Satire

Two recent posts by 'The Onion' caught my eye today, as a friend and I had just been talking about how ridiculous and out-of-hand all of our technological gadgetry and social networking has gotten...

Police Slog through 40,000 photos to determine cause of dorm fire
Report: 90% Of Waking Hours Spent Staring At Glowing Rectangles

As funny as they are (and the dorm one is hilarious) I feel like I have to laugh because otherwise I'd cry. It's pretty close to home for me and just about everyone else out there living in the modern world. It's amazing to think that, up to a point (and more recently than you'd imagine), the entire wealth of collective human knowledge could be condensed and stored in less space than, say, the space used for the photos taken at just such a ridiculous college dorm party.

I remember always hearing that "a weekday of any major newspaper has more information than the average person living in the 17th century would have come across in a lifetime" and being amazed by that statement. That was before facebook, twitter, digg, reddit, google reader, etc etc... I can't even imagine how many multiples we can apply to that now. As someone deep in the thick of it (just created a Twitter account yesterday...) I almost feel obliged to investigate the potential of all this innovation, and yet simultaneously feel so bogged down by it.

Without going into the philosophy of whether or not this is all good for humanity (and I think despite its downsides, it ultimately is -- just look at how twitter is helping mobilize democracy in Iran) it's obvious that we're beginning to bang up against some ceilings in terms of human interactions with these technologies. iPhones still have to contend with the size of human thumbs, people get bogged down keeping up with too many accounts, and accessing the wealth of information in 'the cloud' is still mostly impractical for quick, on-the-spot decision making.

I suspect we'll see more and more aggregating 'dashboards' being developed in the immediate future (think iGoogle & Reader), in an attempt to make all of the above more quick, accessible, and consumable. These, however, will look crude compared to what's to come. The MIT Media Lab's new Fluid Interfaces Group recently demoed Pattie Maes brainchild,
Sixth Sense, a "wearable device that enables new interactions between the real world and the world of data." Ahh... Now you're beginning to understand what's coming. She laughs as she makes a quip at the end about brain implants, but it's quite obvious that's where we're headed.

The question is... will yours be made by Apple? IBM? Google? The US Gov't? Who will control it?

...and what color would you like it in?
/eh